Leaders in Virtual Production Collaborate to Develop Next-Generation of
the Technology Behind James Cameron’s “Avatar” Movie

Autodesk has partnered with James Cameron's production company Lightstorm Entertainment and Peter Jackson's visual effects company Weta Digital to develop the next generation of virtual production technology for the motion picture industry. (Photo: Business Wire)

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Autodesk has partnered with James Cameron's production company Lightstorm Entertainment and Peter Jackson's visual effects company Weta Digital to develop the next generation of virtual production technology for the motion picture industry. (Photo: Business Wire)

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SIGGRAPH 2012 — Autodesk,
Inc., (NADSAQ: ADSK) has partnered with Lightstorm Entertainment and
Weta Digital to develop the next generation of virtual production
technology for the motion picture industry.

Lightstorm Entertainment is James Cameron’s production company,
responsible for the 2009 box office sensation “Avatar.” Weta Digital,
one of the world’s premier visual effects companies, has a history of
pushing the boundaries of visual effects and computer graphics with
their work on films like “Avatar,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,”
“The Adventures of Tintin” and many more.

The three companies have been working collaboratively to further expand
the virtual production workflows and technologies that were first
developed for “Avatar.” Some of the tools and enhancements resulting
from the collaboration have been incorporated into certain products in
the latest Autodesk
Entertainment Creation Suites. These and more developments stemming
from the technology partnership will be used in the production of the
“Avatar” sequels.

“Creating the virtual production pipeline on ‘Avatar’ was a
groundbreaking process that only enabled us to scratch the surface of
what is possible. Together with Autodesk and Weta Digital, we have used
the knowledge gained from this first experience to clearly define the
ideal process and then develop the technology needed to streamline our
workflow. With the resulting pipeline, on the ‘Avatar’ sequels, I will
be able to devote more of my energy to the creative side of the
moviemaking process, and dig deeper into all that is possible with
virtual production,” said James Cameron.

Virtual production involves applying the power of digital toolsets to
the entire movie making process. This allows the director and other
creative collaborators to see their assets in a fully interactive world
live on-set, so they can make better decisions more quickly — enhancing
the creative process and improving productivity as a result. This
interactive, nonlinear process spans from digital worldbuilding,
character development and previsualization, to performance capture,
virtual cinematography, visual effects, and all the way to final render.
Pioneered under James Cameron for the creation of “Avatar,” it has since
been adopted by renowned directors Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson,
among others.

To develop the next generation of virtual production technology, Weta
Digital forged a particularly close relationship with Autodesk and its
development team. As the visual effects studio on “Avatar,” and “The
Adventures of Tintin,” as well as the upcoming “The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey,” Weta Digital has established expertise in the
virtual production process.

“After completing ‘Avatar,’ we had a clear understanding of the
developments needed to make the process more creative and efficient. We
knew that by bringing the whole digital pipeline more in line with the
traditional onset style of shooting we could open up brand new ways for
directors like Jim to make their films. When we’re charting new
territory like this, it’s invaluable to have a partner like Autodesk
whose tools are the platform and the standard in the industry,” said Joe
Letteri, senior digital effects supervisor at Weta Digital.

“Lightstorm and Weta Digital were behind some of the most visually
stunning movies of the last decade. By bringing together their talent
and experience with our own expertise, we are creating tools to help our
customers take better advantage of important developments in moviemaking
and visual effects,” said Carl Bass, Autodesk CEO.

As part of the Entertainment Creation Suites 2013, the new virtual
production enhancements will help studios of all sizes adopt this
revolutionary moviemaking process. The tools, found in Autodesk
MotionBuilder and Autodesk Maya software, will help improve performance,
workflow and image fidelity.

MotionBuilder now loads, saves and merges files together much faster
than before, and is more closely integrated to the Editorial workflow.
Motion capture and live input data can be recorded to disk in the
software’s non-linear editor so directors can record multiple takes in
rapid sequence; actors can act out their scenes un-interrupted; and
stage crew can work instantly with Editorial to build and refine shots.
Furthermore, the software now includes HD SDI video output support,
which allows MotionBuilder to be integrated into studio video broadcast
systems, designed to introduce zero frames of lag. This gives creative
visionaries and camera operators more accurate real time feedback on
their virtual camera work.

Autodesk, Inc. is a leader in 3D
design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the
manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and
entertainment industries — including the last 17 Academy Award winners
for Best Visual Effects — use Autodesk software to design, visualize and
simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD
software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio
of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional
information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Maya and MotionBuilder are registered trademarks
or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or
affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a
registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their
respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and
service offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without
notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors
that may appear in this document.